UEL programme attracts creatives into healthcare

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Published

16 August 2021

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The University of East London (UEL) and London Higher have launched CUREate, a new programme to attract creative graduates into postgraduate health courses.

The first-of-its-kind programme is being piloted in London where 35,000 people are enrolled in creative undergraduate courses annually.

As part of the CUREate project, the University of East London will lead on research into creative students' perceptions of health professions.

We know quite a lot about the stereotypes that health professionals hold about each other, but we don’t know much about how the health professions are viewed by those from other disciplines,"

Dr Graham Copnell, lead investigator and senior lecturer in Professional Health Sciences, Physiotherapy and Podiatry at UEL,said.

"There are connections between health and creative disciplines, but the question is whether creative students see them, and if not, what can we do to make the connections more evident."

The project highlights almost 50 postgraduate health courses in London open to creative graduate entry, spanning nursing, midwifery and seven allied health professions.

CUREate project manager, Lydia Dye-Stonebridge said, "The central premise of CUREate is that creative students already have many of the core skills needed to deliver high quality care and shape health at a time of transformation.

"Outreach for accelerated postgraduate courses, however, has almost exclusively been focused on those with science backgrounds. CUREate’s aim is to challenge that bias and engage in new ways."

Ten higher education partners from across London will host local outreach activity during the spring and summer terms, with these activities to be developed by a team of students from health and creative disciplines in partnership with a faculty mentor.

CUREate has received funding from the Office for Students' SIHED programme's Challenge Fund, following a successful bid from Lydia Dye-Stonebridge at London Higher and the University of East London's lead applicants Jane Perry, dean of the School of Health, Sport and Bioscience, and Professor John Turner, director of careers and enterprise in the School of Psychology. 

Nicola Turner, head of Sector Practice at the Office for Students said, "Many healthcare disciplines offer qualification pathways at postgraduate levels, including nursing, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. These are fantastic careers that offer high employability while making a difference to people’s lives every day."

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